September 2002 Volume 83 Number 9 "serving the protectors"
Murdered on the farm
By Allan L Peters

Tears will flow from downcast eyes when the Australian police community honours its fallen at the National Police Remembrance Day later this month. Among those commemorated will be one SA officer who paid the ultimate price at the age of just 38.

Senior Constable Harold Pannell paid a fateful visit to the Bow Hill farm of John Ross Keith Fischer on the morning of March 12, 1957.

Pannell had visited the property – 32km from Karoonda – a few times over the previous week in his assistant-bailiff role for the local court. These visits were the result of a civil court order issued against Fischer in connection with a 1955 motor vehicle accident.

For some reason, Fischer was unable – or unwilling – to pay the amount of damages claimed against him. Pannell had been forced to explain to him that goods to the approximate value of the claim would have to be seized and sold to expiate the debt.

Fischer, then 36, was slow to grasp ideas that were not part of his every-day life. He had trouble trying to comprehend the logic in having to forfeit some of his possessions. But the policeman was patient and explained the situation repeatedly. He kept explaining until he was certain that Fischer fully understood.

Pannell then arranged to call at the farm at 10am on March 12 with a truck to pick up several rolls of chain fencing to offset the long overdue debt.

Pannell arrived at the agreed time with a truck and driver, Colin Murray Jackson, a carrier from Murray Bridge. Jackson would later describe the events that took place as he and Pannell prepared to load the fencing wire onto the truck.

“I saw that Fischer, who was nearby, was holding a shotgun, the muzzle of which was pointed downward, towards the ground,” said Jackson.

“As Senior Constable Pannell and I began to load the wire, I said to Fischer, by way of conversation: ‘It is hard for me to take these goods like this’, to which Fischer replied: ‘It’s harder for me’.

“Pannell then said: ‘The wire will be at the police station at Karoonda. If you come into some money you can get it back’.

“As we were about to load the last roll of wire, Fischer walked to within a few feet of Pannell and said: ‘Leave it there’. Pannell – who was bending at the time and preparing to lift the roll – told Fischer to drop the gun, (and) then asked me to help him lift the wire.

“Fischer, who had brought the gun to his shoulder, pointed it at Pannell and took a single step forward, and then, from a distance of about three feet (one metre) shot Pannell through the forehead. Fischer then ordered me to unload the truck and drive away, which I did.”

When later questioned about Fischer’s appearance at the time of the shooting, Jackson said: “I saw no sign of temper about Fischer when the shot was fired. And, afterwards, he displayed no more concern than if he had shot a crow.”

After leaving the scene of the shooting, Jackson headed immediately to the Karoonda police station, where he reported the shooting in as much detail as possible.

Fischer, meanwhile, headed toward Murray Bridge in his car. He was later found there and arrested at gunpoint in a garage by Constable G Waye. On foot, Waye ordered Fischer to get behind the wheel of his own truck. Then, with the constable’s gun pointed at him, Fischer drove just under 1km to the police station.

Other police were meanwhile dispatched to the crime scene from Adelaide and the surrounding areas. They discovered Pannell’s body. He still lay where he had fallen after being shot. Even the most cursory examination was enough to show that his death had been instantaneous.

The single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun that Fischer had used to fire the fatal shot was found in the kitchen of the farmhouse by the investigating policemen.

Fischer was brought before a specially convened court hearing at Murray Bridge that same evening, when Sergeant W Rodgers briefly outlined the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Pannell. After hearing the evidence so far collected, Mr. CK Collins, JP, who had charge of the hearing, remanded Fischer in custody to the Adelaide Gaol on a charge of murder.

Senior Constable Harold Rae Pannell was laid to rest with full police honours at Centennial Park Cemetery on Thursday afternoon, March 14. Three hundred police officers representing all branches of the SA police force attended the funeral.

Sixty motor traffic officers on motorcycles led the cortège from the funeral parlour on Unley Road, Unley, to Daws Road. The cortège – headed by an additional 100 uniformed constables in a slow march – then moved to the cemetery.

Reverend A Wright conducted the burial service at the graveside, and police buglers sounded The Last Post.

At his Supreme Court trial before Mr Justice Reed in Adelaide, Fischer, through his counsel, Harry Alderman QC, stated that, while he wished to plead not guilty, he did not dispute any of the prosecution evidence. Nor did he deny that he fired the shot that killed Pannell.

Jackson, the truck driver who had witnessed the tragedy, was one of few witnesses called to give evidence for the prosecution.

In his defence, Fischer read an unsworn statement, which occupied less than a foolscap page. In it, Fischer had written that he did not quite understand why Pannell had tried to take his wire. He also wrote that, each time the policeman had visited him, he “had been very decent to me”.

Fischer said he knew the constable was coming with a truck to take the wire and was only doing his job. He continued from his statement, saying he did not at the time know that he was doing anything wrong.

“Even afterwards, I didn’t think so either, until I came to my senses,” he said. “I thought I would go on working my farm. Although, if I was in my right mind, I would have known that shooting a policeman was murder and that I would be arrested.

“I was not right in my head at the time. I couldn’t have been, or I wouldn’t have done it. I was not annoyed with the policeman. I had no reason for doing it. I can’t understand why I did this terrible thing. My mind was a blank.”

At the end of Fischer’s statement, Leslie Frederick Baker – who lived in the neighbouring township of Tailem Bend and had known Fischer for a number of years – was called to give evidence for the defence.

He said: “Fischer has lived alone on his farm since the death of his mother about three years ago. He has always been a quiet, jovial sort of fellow.

“His married sister, Mrs Edna Liebich, to whom Fischer was extremely close, died on March 8 of this year. When I greeted Fischer on the day of his sister’s funeral, he was very distressed. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out and there were flecks of froth around his mouth. This man, who is my friend, was frothing at the mouth. I was sitting in a car. He moved away, and I did nothing.”

Baker concluded emotionally.

Three doctors specializing in mental disorders had each examined Fischer independently while he was remanded in the Adelaide Gaol. Each gave evidence pertinent to his examination.

The first medical man, Dr AW Meadows, said: “Fischer’s general intelligence could be described as mentally retarded or dull – a midway position between a mental defect and lower-average ability. He is not in the certifiable class. His performance is equal to that of a person of lower-average capacity, though I could find no sign of brain damage to cause this condition.

“The results of the tests that I subjected the accused to suggested that he has a withdrawn, restricted, apathetic personality resembling schizophrenia, but insufficient for a definite diagnosis.

“Fischer’s reading skill is equal to that of an average child of eight to nine years. His shallow interests, his tendency to turn away from reality, poor memory, egocentricity and emotional withdrawal are some of the symptoms to be found in the epileptic character.

“Fischer’s reactions to tests and his statements to police indicate confusion, which would fit either schizophrenia or idiopathic epilepsy. A person in either of those conditions would perform actions as if he were in a dream. They might even be performed unconsciously.

“It is a confused mental state, a clouded state of consciousness. A person in such a state would not be able to weigh rightness or wrongness.

“People with such a defect are unable to foresee the consequences of their acts or control themselves. Nor could they fully know the nature of their acts when they performed them.

“The first test that I subjected Fischer to suggested that he is more likely than the normal person to kill somebody, because he is dull, and less appreciative of consequences than the normal person.

“While I cannot say with certainty that the accused did not know what he was doing when he shot Constable Pannell, there is a possibility that he was in a confused state, acting automatically.”

In response to a question from the judge, the doctor said: “If the shot was fired in a state of epileptic automation, the firer would not know what he was doing.”

Dr S B Forgan was called as the next witness. His findings were very much in keeping with those of the previous witness. But Forgan appeared a little more definite when he stated: “I am of the opinion that, at the time of the shooting, Fischer’s conduct was that of an epileptic equivalent.”

Dr Forgan, when queried about the condition, said: “It is a type of seizure that might at times take the place of the ordinarily known fit. It is a mental seizure, not a physical one. In this condition, a patient will go through a series of actions automatic in the sense that they were not controlled by his will, but he was often conscious of his actions. He would not, however, be able to appreciate the consequences of his act, nor know if what he was doing was morally right or wrong.

“If he did have some appreciation of wrongness, he would not have the power to stop himself. However, I strongly believe that, at the time of the act, Fischer did not have any such appreciation.”

The opinion of the third medical man, acting deputy superintendent of the Northfield Mental Hospital, Dr JM Collins, was slightly different from the previous two doctors. He was more inclined to think that Fischer was suffering from schizophrenia and that he was in fact subject to hallucinations. Like the other doctors, however, he said Fischer would not have known at the time of shooting the policeman that what he was doing was wrong.

After Dr Collins’ testimony, the crown prosecutor, Mr JR Kearnan, addressed Justice Reed. He indicated that, in view of the whole of the medical evidence, he thought it advantageous to meet the justice and defence counsel for an interview in chambers.

After a short adjournment, Reed told the jury that the medical evidence accorded with the view that Fischer was insane – in the legal sense – at the time of the shooting, and that the jury could return a verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insanity.

If such a verdict were to be given, he said, it would be his duty to order detention. This would mean Fischer’s confinement to a mental institution, where he would remain until the authorities were satisfied he could be released with safety to the community.

Justice Reed said the crown had dealt fairly with the case, and that everything had been done to ensure the public interest. It was unfortunate that a member of the police force had been killed, but the jury had a duty to act in accordance with the evidence.

After a short conference in the box, the jury returned the verdict that Reed had invited. He announced the finding, as required by law, and ordered Fischer to be kept in strict custody until the Governor’s pleasure be known.

When it was deemed that Fischer no longer posed a threat to society, he was released from the mental institution to which he had been confined. He died in Adelaide on July 9, 1988, at the age of 67.

At Karoonda last April – on the 164th anniversary of the foundation of the SA Police – a memorial was unveiled to the memory and sacrifice of Harold Pannell. The Police Association of South Australia, the SA Police Historical Society and the District Council of Karoonda East Murray contributed jointly to the creation of the memorial.

And, on the South Australia Police honour roll, Harold Pannell’s name appears with those of other brave SA officers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

PANNELL’S EARLY LIFE Harold Rae Pannell was born in Kadina, South Australia, on May 24, 1918. He joined the workforce as a brick-maker and lime-burner but was determined to become a policeman. He passed the SA Police entrance examination on November 9, 1937, and joined the force as a 19-year-old junior constable on January 10, 1938. Pannell worked hard through the following years, passing life-saving, ambulance and first-aid exams. He also passed his third-grade sergeant’s tests and, at the time of his death, was still waiting for a position with that rank to become available. Between 1938 and 1950, Pannell served diligently in such areas as Port Adelaide, Hindmarsh, Port Pirie and the CIB. In 1951, he transferred to the small East Murray settlement of Karoonda as officer-in-charge, and was promoted to the rank of senior constable. At Karoonda, Harold Pannell and his wife, Rhonda – parents of two – became involved in many local projects, and won great community respect.

– Allan L Peters

The National Police Remembrance Day memorial service will be held at Fort Largs Police Academy at 10:30am on Friday, Sept 27.

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